Making Sachiko jealous for Yumi
by kryponite
Summary: Looking out the window, Rosa Gigantea noticed Yumi and raised her head. Wow. With no one to greet you, you showed up? Well then, the kindergartner has come home without a chaperone. I'm doing the role of Sister B, and more, so it would be bad not to come,


This is a scene from episode 3... of maria-sama ga miteru...

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Looking out the window, Rosa Gigantea noticed Yumi and raised her head.

"Wow. With no one to greet you, you showed up?"

Well then, the kindergartner has come home without a chaperone.

"I'm doing the role of Sister B, and more, so it would be bad not to come, wouldn't it?"

"My, how sarcastic you've become! I guess you're a big girl now."

While smiling slightly, Rosa Gigantea crossed the floor, then patted Yumi's head. 'Good girl, good girl.'

Page 136

"It looks like I'm a little early."

In the room on the second floor of the Rose Manor, there wasn't even the hint of any other person.

"Don't worry. Help yourself to anything you'd like to drink."

Steam rose from a teacup in the window, apparently left there from when Rosa Gigantea was drinking it.

"What's that?"

"Instant coffee, black, mixed with hot water. If you want sugar, you'll have to find it yourself."

"Oh."

Not feeling like declining, she took a cup that had been sitting upside down, put in instant coffee and poured in hot water. Because the pot had just been boiling, and she had added plenty of sugar and powered milk which she found easily, the instant coffee tasted fine.

"Yumi-chan, do you have cleaning duty?"

"Oh. The choir club is in the music room right now. They said they'll clean up and go home after they finish."

While putting down her stirring spoon, Yumi replied.

"It's because the school festival is soon. It's busy everywhere."

Page 137

The way Rosa Gigantea was whispering, it was like it was somebody else's business.

For the Cinderella play, the flames were already scorching her butt: there was no time to waste. Yumi wondered how Rosa Gigantea could be so carefree. Essentially, there were only ten days left, and they had yet to settle the cast.

"And what about you, Rosa Gigantea? Do you have cleaning duty?"

Right now in the high school, everyone was cleaning up, which is why Yumi arrived ahead of Shimako-san, who is in her same class.

"By the time you're a third-year, you pretty much have it down."

"Goldbricking?"

"Silly. How could the Yamayurikai leaders goldbrick? That would be pointed out, right? Actually, we have two cleaning groups, each one cleans every other day. Third-years have smaller cleaning assignments than underclassmen, so we can do that.

Naturally, there are many kinds of groups. Big groups tend to be more sluggish, small groups more focused.

"Yeah yeah, I got it."

Without thinking, she spoke with an informal tone. With Rosa Gigantea there, Yumi's pace crumbled, her tension around someone two years her senior loosened up a bit.

Page 138

"Yeah, that's enough. But, for us, when we were first-years, we were diligent about our cleaning duties."

"Rosa Gigantea, a first-year……"

"What do you mean?"

At Yumi's sigh of admiration, Rosa Gigantea made a glaring face.

"You think it unbelievable."

She had a presence like she had been a third-year forever.

"Are those words of admiration?"

"Yes, of course."

After Yumi answered so confidently, Rosa Gigantea laughed. Then once again she glanced outside past the bench at the window.

If you thought about it,

She may appear full of confidence, but before she was a third-year, she was a first-year and second-year student at Lillian. When Rosa Gigantea was an underclassman, she experienced receiving a rosary from the previous Rosa Gigantea. Because that ritual is already an obsessive drama in itself, certainly she was worried and perplexed at that time, and felt a bit strange about it.

"Um,"

"Yeah?"

Page 139

"Can I ask a question?"

"No hard questions."

She had just had math class before this, so Rosa Gigantea's brain was fairly exhausted. She was maintaining her ranking in the top ten students in her grade, but it looked like the battle between mathematical formulas and drowsiness was intense.

"Why did you choose Shimako as your sœur?"

"That's not a hard question, but an unusual one. Usually nobody asks me why I chose Shimako."

"She certainly seems like a natural choice."

"Yes."

Since Shimako was such a qualified applicant that nobody would object, so probably nobody asked and just accepted it. Yeah, surely that was it.

"She's the exact opposite of me."

While she said this, Yumi slumped a bit.

"You're quite timid, aren't you?"

"Like you said, I'm straw spun into gold."

"Straw? What do you mean?"

It was as if she had completely forgotten the conversation from two days ago. Again it was explained. Rosa Gigantea said "oh yeah, that," and laughed so hard that she cried. The story's subject (stubbornly) remembered the story the best.

Page 140

"Being Straw, that's pretty good, no?"

Rosa Gigantea said, while wiping away the tears with the palm of her hand.

"How do you mean?"

"Sachiko is always hanging onto you."

Rosa Gigantea drank the last of her black instant coffee, then put the empty cup down in the windowsill.

"Oh."

Actually, the stories told by smart people do occasionally become outrageous. Whether for the sake of the story, or intentionally omitting the middle parts of the story, she wasn't sure at the time.

"For sake of the Yamayurikai, we should make use of personnel like Shimako, don't you think?"

"That's not an answer."

"As Rosa Gigantea, that is the answer. But personally, I have another reason, and that's a secret."

Rosa Gigantea placed both hands over the center of her chest. Certainly the secret was placed in her heart, as she said.

Page 141

"Shimako-san said that it's because you're both want the same thing from a sœur."

"Yeah, that sounds right. But that's just one thing. We're similar, yet we know how to give each other space. We're comfortable together."

Rosa Gigantea had not chosen a petite sœur, even halfway through her time as a high school student here. People thought there were plenty of impressive students among the second-years. But those students weren't good enough. Shimako-san was.

As if in response to that, Shimako-san also chose Rosa Gigantea, not Sachiko-sama. Whether complex or simple, the inner workings of human relations are deep.

"Now that I think about it, don't you think Shimako might be a little envious of you, Yumi-chan?"

"Now why would you say something like that?"

It was a bit sudden, so a some of the coffee that had grown cold went down her windpipe.

"That—"

While Yumi thought about saying that, Rosa Gigantea suddenly hugged her.

"I want to see your funny faces, Yumi-chan."

"Hey, wait a…, Rosa Gigantea!"

Her coffee looked like it was about to spill.

This is awful. She didn't know Rosa Gigantea's intentions, but if they were seen like this by someone, more and more it could become a terribly tangled mess.

Page 142

Especially in this case.

While watching the coffee level in the teacup, she wriggled to escape, and came free with a 'poof!'

"Rumpelstiltzken has arrived, so we're done."

"Rumpelstiltzken?"

She saw Sachiko-sama, standing in the doorway by the cookie-like door.

"It looks like you're having quite a fun time. Even though I made the stairs creak as I climbed them, you didn't notice while playing around."

Sachiko-sama came into the room, and deposited her book bag in a chair. While thinking 'this is somewhat unpleasant,' Yumi hastily separated herself from Rosa Gigantea's side.

"How awful. We were putting on a little 'service' for you to watch when you came in."

Without acting guilty, Rosa Gigantea spoke.

"'Service?'"

Sachiko-sama's temples twitched.

"If I really wanted to assault someone, then surely I would pick a spot where nobody would come."

Oh no.

Page 143

Page 144

That was just the thing to say to rile the fastidious Sachiko-sama. What should I do? She's gonna blow! She's gonna blow!

"Ah!"

Yumi shouted.

"What?"

Rosa Gigantea and Sachiko-sama turned around at almost the same time.

"Um, well……"

She'd shouted, but had nothing prepared, so she didn't continue after that. It couldn't be helped, so she made a big deal of looking at her wristwatch, and then said,

"Wow, look at the time. Everyone will be here soon. Rosa Gigantea, may I take your cup? I'll wash it."

Ah, why can't I find a better way? If anyone else where here, they'd be able to pull off something smarter, Yumi thought. But this was all a design to avoid Sachiko-sama's hysteria.

"Yumi-chan, what a good girl."

Rosa Gigantea's shoulders shook as she tried not to laugh, then she offered the cup. Their eyes never met, but certainly they were smiling. In a soft voice, she whispered to Yumi,

Page 145

"I made Sachiko jealous for you."

"What?"

Turning around and looking over her shoulders, Rosa Gigantea made a big stretch and said "Well, shall I go see what's going on downstairs?" After that somewhat forced explanation, she left the room.

It felt like a complete misunderstanding. Walking in on that scene of an embrace, it wasn't to make Sachiko-sama jealous.

Yumi carried the two teacups, then soaped them up with a sponge and some dishwashing detergent.

Sachiko-sama pulled out the chair next to her where she had previously put her book bag and took a seat, then pulled out a paperback.

(Hey!)

Sachiko-sama wasn't paying any attention at all to Yumi.

"Oh, the hot water isn't coming out."

It was as if the gas supply wasn't turned on, the water heater wasn't running. There was nothing else to do but wash with tap water. I'm glad it's still Fall, she thought.

"In Winter, the pipes freeze."

"What…!"

She was surprised.

More than by the frozen pipes or whatever, Yumi was surprised that Sachiko-sama was listening intently as she talked to herself. Yumi thought that since Sachiko-sama was reading, she was ignoring the world around her. Yumi could see Sachiko-sama in her line of sight, and Sachiko-sama was still lost deep in the opened paperback.

Page 146

Putting the cups and spoons in the drying rack and covering them, Yumi turned about and said,

"Sachiko-sama, thank you for the script at lunch."

She had only flipped through one page. The booklet was crammed full with difficult kanji.

"Did you try to look it over?"

"Um, yes. Just once."

"Why are you speaking so quietly?"

Sachiko-sama finally pulled her face out of her book.

"As I expected, I can't possibly learn all of Cinderella's lines……"

Yumi hung her head in shame. Then Sachiko-sama muttered "Don't be silly."

"Nobody's asking you to."

Then what was being asked? After Yumi started to wonder about this, Sachiko-sama put the paperback on the table, then stood up straight and said,

"I'm wearing my red velvet dress, with the English frills."

Sachiko-sama, what are you talking about? Then, after a moment, she remembered hearing those words somewhere. Or more precisely, reading them, a sentence appearing in the Lillian edition Cinderella script. Marked in blue highlighter, before one of the Sister B's lines. It was one of Sister A's lines.

Page 147

Yumi didn't understand why Sachiko-sama would start talking like this, but obviously Sachiko-sama was waiting for Yumi's reply. If she didn't reply, she felt that would certainly be unforgivable.

"My usual skirt will be fine."

Deciding she was ready, Yumi opened her mouth.

"But instead of just that, I'll wear my gold floral print mantle, and my diamond broach. It's quite a rare item."

After Yumi finished saying her lines, Sachiko-sama came up and stood close close behind her.

"Big sister, how about wearing your hair like this?"

Changing scenes, now Sachiko was Cinderella.

One scare after another. With her life on the line, Yumi remembered the lines from the script. Let's see—

"Cinderella. You don't also think you'll be happy if you can go to the ball?"

"Wonderful!"

Sachiko-sama said, then softly touched Yumi's shoulders.

"You memorized them perfectly, didn't you?"

Page 148

(What……?)

What's going on? Suddenly my heart's beating a mile a minute.

This second time her shoulders were visited, the faint, clumsy, sense of touch, was different than "there, there" or "good girl." It was something new.

It was kind of like when Rosa Gigantea tousled her hair, or hugged her, but at those times her heart rate didn't race like this.

"Everyone's late."

Sachiko-sama suddenly turned and walked towards the door. Then Yumi breathed a sigh of relief.

Getting herself flustered like this, it was unusually embarrassing.

"And Rosa Gigantea hasn't returned from downstairs."

"I wonder if the meeting location changed? I'll go look."

"Yeah, me too."

While cooling her red face with the palms of her hands, Yumi followed after her.

Halfway down the stairs, Sachiko-sama looked back over her shoulders,

"……be careful."

At first she thought she was being cautioned about the steep stairs. But she didn't hear the first part, although it sounded like 'Rosa Gigantea.'

Page 149

"What is it?"

Sachiko curtly replied "the stairs" after Yumi's query, and the remaining stairs squeaked as she walked down them.

(Aw)

I though Sachiko-sama was going to be jealous, but I guess not.

There aren't many things in this world just for your convenience.

As Sachiko-sama instructed, Yumi took the stairs one by one and went down.

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pls...review

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